Soldier on Leave from Iraq Wins $50,000

Wednesday, June 8, 2005

ATLANTA - For the second time this week, a soldier visiting home on leave has won a Georgia Lottery top prize. Army Sgt. Felicia Long played the instant game Jumbo Bucks Classic and won $50,000. Ms. Long's win comes two days after another soldier on leave won $85,000.

Ms. Long, a native of Ochlocknee, arrived home from Iraq yesterday (June 8) on a two-week military leave. She purchased her lucky ticket while getting gas this morning (June 9).

Jack Rabbit Foods #0009, located at 135 U.S. Hwy. 319 S. in Moultrie, sold the winning top prize ticket. Ms. Long scratched the ticket in her car in the store's parking lot and says, "That's when my heart fell out of my stomach. I was shaking, almost crying."

According to Ms. Long, she will save her $50,000 prize.

Earlier this week, Sgt. First Class Rosalind Lovelace won $85,000 playing the Georgia Lottery instant game Dollar Signs. Ms. Lovelace, a resident of West Point, Ga., is stationed in Puerto Rico. She purchased her lucky top prize ticket in LaGrange.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned over $7.4 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs. These include Georgia’s HOPE scholarship program; a statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program for four-year-olds; and a wide range of technological and capital upgrades for the state’s schools, technical institutes, colleges, universities and public libraries.

For more information, please visit the Media Center on the GLC Web site at:www.galottery.com